SAVING GRACE / A hot goalie is crucial in the Playoffs, and the Sharks have a pair of capable netminders

Tony Cooper, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, April 21, 1999

1999-04-21 04:00:00 PDT Denver -- There is no force more powerful in hockey than a hot goaltender, and no one knows this more than Mike Vernon. He went from being a backup goalie to being considered one of the foremost "money" goalies in the NHL in just a few weeks. A span of 20 games, to be exact.

Caddying for fellow goalie Chris Osgood during the 1996-97 regular season, Vernon, then with the Detroit Red Wings, was called upon by coach Scotty Bowman to start in goal in the Wings' first playoff game. Vernon was so stout that Bowman had no choice but to milk him for all he was worth, which was a lot. The result: 20 postseason outings, a 16-4-0 record, 1.76 goals-against average and Detroit's first Stanley Cup since 1955.

"It was fun," said Vernon, in his second season with the Sharks. "Obviously, I enjoyed it. I enjoy stopping pucks."

Asked if he has it in him to make another run like that toward a title, Vernon said, "I hope so, I wouldn't still be playing if I didn't."

The Sharks acquired Vernon for his playoff history, although it has been suggested in some camps that backup goalie Steve Shields, who sparkled in the regular season, should be the guy. It would seem unlikely that Sharks coach Darryl Sutter would turn his back on Vernon's resume -- Vernon also backstopped Calgary to the 1989 Cup, and that franchise hasn't done a thing since -- and go with the unproven Shields.

That's because in the playoffs, you don't mess around between the pipes. The guy has got to be good every single game; those soft goals might be permissible in some Monday night game in Greensboro, N.C., but not in the postseason. A hot goalie can take his team a long way. Poor goaltending? Make those vacation plans.

"In the history of Stanley Cup winners, it seems to me more goaltenders are the best player," said veteran Sharks left wing Dave Lowry. "If they

don't win the Conn Smythe (the playoff most valuable player award) they're right there. When you get a team behind a hot goalie, it breeds confidence. It's huge."

Lowry speaks from first-hand experience. He was a key member of the unheralded 1995-96 Florida Panthers team that shocked the hockey world and vaulted all the way to the finals. John Vanbiesbrouck was in goal every step of the way, giving the Panthers a chance to win every night.

"(Vanbiesbrouck) was the reason we went as far as we did," Lowry said.

With Vernon, the Sharks just might be in the same position.

"He's been the playoff MVP and won two Cups," said Lowry. "He's been there. He's been the whole battle, the whole deal."

Said Sharks defenseman Bob Rouse, a member of Detroit's 1997 and 1998 championship squads: "Vernon played well. We relied on him throughout. He's very solid in postseason, and that's his trademark."

In their Western Conference quarterfinal against Colorado, the Sharks will be trying to send pucks past Patrick Roy, and he's not too bad in the postseason, either. Roy has taken Montreal to a pair of titles, and presided over the Avalanche's 1996 Cup, when they beat the Panthers in the finals. Roy's playoff numbers that year: 16-6 record, three shutouts, a 2.13 goals-against average and 1,454 minutes played. The only time he rested was during the national anthems.

"You can look back as far as you want," said Sharks assistant coach Bernie Nicholls, a longtime NHL player. "The teams that are successful in the playoffs get great goaltending, not just good goaltending. You get just good goaltending, you're not going to win."

The great playoff goalies -- Vernon, Roy, Grant Fuhr, Hall of Famer Billy Smith and all the rest -- would fully admit to being more charged up for playoffs than the typical regular-season game. It's a given that Vernon is good for a few regular-season stinkers a year, and his coaches have lived with it. Roy probably won't be pulling any shenanigans such as stick-handling the puck and trying to score, as he did in a recent game against Edmonton, riling many of the Oilers.

"It's always a key," said Sharks centerVincent Damphousse. "Goaltending is probably the most important thing in the playoffs. Roy always plays well in the playoffs. A goalie can win you one or two games in a series. Rarely do you see a wide-open game. In one-goal games, key saves are important, Rarely is a team blowing people out."

Most observers would agree with the assertion of Nicholls and Dallas Stars coach Ken Hitchcock, among others, that stellar -- not decent -- goaltending is a requirement to do damage in the playoffs. It's interesting to note that some feel what holds the Stars back from winning the Cup is goalie Ed Belfour, who carries a rap for not winning big games. Belfour went nuts at one point during the series against the Sharks last year, not what you want to see from the person who's supposed to be the fulcrum of your team.

However, while no one would dispute the importance of strong net-minding in the playoffs, the masked man needs help in front of him as well. Rouse raised his eyebrows when it was suggested that Vernon "carried" the Wings to the Cup. Not that Rouse questioned Vernon's performance, but he stressed that a championship is a team effort.

"If you can protect your goalie, he doesn't have to be great," said Rouse. "A goalie can carry a team for a couple of rounds, but if you rely on him too heavily, it eventually catches up to you. The team has to play well in front of a goalie. It's such a grind, it wears him down."

A good example of this is Dominik Hasek. He has excellent postseason numbers in his career, but no Cup rings. The Sabres lost in the Eastern Conference finals last season and failed to go all the way. With a little more support, things would have been different.

Of course, the Sabres would be a playoff pushover without Hasek. And even if a hot goalie is the No. 1 determining factor in the playoffs, there isn't a team that wouldn't want to be without one.

"It's a whole new season," Vernon said. "Everything gets thrown out the door."

And those clubs without playoff- savvy puck-stoppers will be the first to go.

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